Wines

97 Points! The 2021 Sesenta e Nove Arrobas is young, primary and sharp, incredibly intense and lively after spending some 20 months with the lees. There is a lot of energy here. It has notes of freshly cut grass, flowers and a faint smokey/leesy sensation. This is one of my favorite Albariños, and this vintage has a long life ahead of it in bottle. Amazing! - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

93 Points! The young and tender 2022 Albariño is the blend of the grapes from 165 plots in the Salnés, fermented with a pied de cuve from the old vines, fermented in stainless steel and matured with lees. It has a balsamic nose with notes of grass and bay leaf, a round palate with pungent flavors and good acidity. It's clean and varietal, reflecting a warmer year. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

93 Points! The gentler 2022 Leirana reflects a warmer year of rounder wines and slightly lower acidity. They are increasing the amount of oak, and eventually, this could end up being 100% in (used and large) foudres, but the wines don't show any oak. They blended all the wines before they are put in foudre, and they feel it results in better integration of the wine. This represents the Salnés region of Rías Baixas with the salty and tasty marine and granite twist. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

This is another stellar set of Champagne from Christophe Baron. The 2018s are simply lights out. Readers will note the addition of a new wine in this range, the Closeaux, which rounds out the collection of four pure Meunier Champagnes, all bottled in magnum only. Mignon and his cousins practice a decidedly Burgundian approach to winemaking. The wines are fermented in 600L Taransaud demi-muids (25% new), with heavy lees stirring, an approach Baron favors for building the wines, especially on the mid-palate and that allows for bottling with no dosage. As for 2018, Baron calls it a typical modern vintage for Champagne marked by climate change. “You better get used to it, because this is the future!” he told me emphatically. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

This is another stellar set of Champagne from Christophe Baron. The 2018s are simply lights out. Readers will note the addition of a new wine in this range, the Closeaux, which rounds out the collection of four pure Meunier Champagnes, all bottled in magnum only. Mignon and his cousins practice a decidedly Burgundian approach to winemaking. The wines are fermented in 600L Taransaud demi-muids (25% new), with heavy lees stirring, an approach Baron favors for building the wines, especially on the mid-palate and that allows for bottling with no dosage. As for 2018, Baron calls it a typical modern vintage for Champagne marked by climate change. “You better get used to it, because this is the future!” he told me emphatically. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

This is another stellar set of Champagne from Christophe Baron. The 2018s are simply lights out. Readers will note the addition of a new wine in this range, the Closeaux, which rounds out the collection of four pure Meunier Champagnes, all bottled in magnum only. Mignon and his cousins practice a decidedly Burgundian approach to winemaking. The wines are fermented in 600L Taransaud demi-muids (25% new), with heavy lees stirring, an approach Baron favors for building the wines, especially on the mid-palate and that allows for bottling with no dosage. As for 2018, Baron calls it a typical modern vintage for Champagne marked by climate change. “You better get used to it, because this is the future!” he told me emphatically. - Antoni Galloni, Vinous Media

Winery notes: “A rare and typical champagne that truly reflects the terroir… A pure and intense moment with Champagne’s oldest grape variety. Made with 100% Meunier grape varietal, this surprising cuvée unveils subtle and fruity perfumes as well as a beautiful aromatic complexity.”

91 Points! Bright yellow. Intense, mineral-laced aromas of redcurrent, blood orange, ginger and smoke, with a hint of white pepper in the background. Dry and nervy, displaying very good clarity to its red berry and citrus fruit flavors. I'd have thought of dosage here was quite a bit lower. Spreads out slowly on the finish, with the mineral and red berry notes echoing. - Josh Raynolds, Vinous Media

97 Points! What an amazing nose of grilled dried seaweed, oyster shell, dried strawberry and iron. Full to medium body with linear tannins that give it drive and length. Iron shavings. Tight at the end. Superb. Drink after 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! A tightly focused, long and pure expression of Pinot, with raspberry coulis and blood orange zest notes streaming along, laced liberally with sous-bois, red tea and savory accents. Reveals lots of underlying energy, with everything in lockstep through the mineral-edged finish. Best from 2024 through 2031. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! The 2022 Cíes is a faithful reflection of the warmer year with rounder wines and more integrated acidity. It's tender and balanced, with a silky texture and a clean finish. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

91 Points! A bright lemon colour with green hues in the glass, this Albariño showcases bright fruit plus refreshing acidity. The fruit is lean: citrus, green fruit, then moving into stone fruit. Salinity and brininess on the palate call for seared scallops or shrimp. Any freshly grilled seafood with a squeeze of lemon would accentuate the wine’s acidity and make for a pleasant pairing. - Decanter Magazine

96 Points! The 2021 Sálvora is serious and austere, young and undeveloped, a wine of purity and precision. It comes from a very old vineyard in the village of Meaño, and unfortunately, the 2023 will be the last vintage of this wine because the vineyard will be expropriated. It has a vibrant palate with an intense finish, very salty and tasty. It has a moderate 12% alcohol with notable freshness but with the advantage of the time in bottle that gave it more complexity and nuance. It fermented and matured in 600-liter oak barrels for 12 months. 2,000 bottles produced. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

This racy and fruity, pure Pinot Meunier Champagne showcases this noble grape in all its glory! A generous addition of reserve wine gives the wine wonderful depth and character. Aged for three years, with just 3 grams/L dosage.

91 Points! The 2022 Alvarinho "Granit" is an unoaked Alvarinho. It is dry and comes in at 12.9% alcohol. Unfortunately, due to shipping problems, I was not able to taste all of the winery's submissions for this report together, but they were still tasted within a couple of weeks of each other. This seems like the best of the group. Opening well on the fruit-forward side, this was pretty delicious on first pour, but it also shows some structure to go with that nice fruit. It is not the nerviest Granit ever, but it is beautifully done, fresh and focused, with the structure nicely supporting that fruit. I wasn't sure if it had enough energy, but it blossomed when retasted the next day. I loved the juicy finish and its "dance across the tongue" demeanor. This may not be one of those old-school Soalheiros that seems to last forever, but it should still age reasonably, perhaps better than indicated. At the beginning of the drinking window, it drinks great now, but it can still improve a little. - Mark Squires, robertparker.com